New Years Course

New Years Course: 2.-6.January 2019

Sacred, ancient medicine – the Hippocratic tradition of mind-body medicine

Five one-day courses for you who wants to heal your life – and for you who wants to be a healer. Meet and get to know Europe’s very own traditional medicine.

Day 1: Sacred body, sacred healing – heal your body from symptoms and disease
Day 2: Sacred life, sacred mind – heal your mind. Solve your mental and existential problems.
Day 3: Sacred sexuality, sacred relationship – learn to live together
Day 4: Sacred work, sacred talent – find your life purpose
Day 5: Sacred spirit, sacred mind – go beyond yourself to freedom

About Søren Ventegodt MD, EU-MSc-CAM
With more than 250 scientific papers on quality of life and healing (more that 100 of these are in pubmed.gov) and 8 textbooks on evidence-based, holistic, mind-body medicine, Ventegodt is a leading researcher in the 2500-year-old tradition of European mind-body therapy. Ventegodt has been training students in holistic medicine for two decades and have 30 years of experience as a therapist. With a background as medical doctor, he has been leading the Quality-of-Life Research Center from its start in 1990 at University Hospital, Copenhagen. He has also been leading the Nordic Campus of Inter-University College, Graz that gives the European Master of Science in alternative, psychosocial and complementary medicine (2006-2008).

About Pavlina Kordova
Pavlina is existential psychotherapist and experienced bodyworker. She is also Søren’s partner and co-teacher on many courses. She is leading the therapy at Elsebråne Retreat Center in Sweden. By bringing the female perspective to the teachings she make the old healing tradition come vibrantly to life. Pavlina has a strong intuition and the gift of seeing through human problems to understand their cause.

About the sacred, ancient Hippocratic mind-body medicine
First scientifically described by the Greek physician Hippocrates and his students 500 BC, the combination of talk-therapy and body-work has been used for healing body, mind, spirit and sexuality for more than two thousand years all over Europe. For the last 100 years doctors have mostly been trained in the use of chemical medicine (drugs), and the classical medicine has been used much less that before. Through the 20th century patients all over the world developed a strong believe in chemical medicine. The problem with the chemical medicine is that it often removes symptoms without giving a causal cure, making the poor health condition chronical. During the past 30 years, a massive body of new science has indicated that the old, sacred medicine often is helpful, curing more than 50% of the patients – and often taking them to a happy, new life with much better understanding of themselves and others. Recent science in psychodynamic psychotherapy and evidence-based mind-body medicine seems to support the traditional medicine’s position: that not only sexual dysfunction and psychological and existential problems but also most of the physical and mental symptoms and diseases are actually psychosomatic.
The root of most human health problems in the rich western world are in general emotional; the causes of symptoms and diseases are found in the patients’ subconscious mind that caries memories of difficult past events. Only when the difficult oppressed emotions are felt again, and the past events are well understood, can the negative learning from these events (the “conditioning”) be de-learned, and the problems solved. Thus the ancient rule of healing is: 1) feel – the oppressed emotions, 2) understand – what happened to you, and 3) let go – of negative beliefs. The role of the holistic therapist is to support and facilitate this simple process of healing. As science has documented the recent years, these three steps are present in shamanistic and traditional healing systems from all continents.

Practical remarks for students:
· To get value for money, please devote yourself to this course.
· Please avoid small talks in the breaks and at home during the course. Avoid television, radio, and all distractions.
· Turn your phone and computer of for these five days.
· Wear comfortable, soft cloth.
· You can sweat nervously during the exercises where we are close. Please take a bath every morning before the course.
· Do not share with anybody outside the course what happens to you, until the end of the course.
· We are going to share the most difficult and intimate secrets; only by sharing in a safe space can we heal. Please fight your natural shyness and open up for the group.
· Please promise not to share what you learn about others on the course.
· Let us know if you use medical or other drugs at the beginning of the course.
· Body-work can happen with cloth on, in underwear or naked dependent of your needs.
· Please be aware that some exercise may include nudity

Sacred, ancient medicine – the Hippocratic tradition of mind-body medicine.
Program

Day 1: Sacred body, sacred healing – heal your body from symptoms and disease
10.00-10.50 Theory What a wonderful life – and what stops it from being wonderful. Body, mind, spirit, false self and true Self. Introduction to therapy and personal development. The principles of healing: feel understand, let go.
11.00-11.50 Exercise Lean in – exercise. Meet each other – do you love them? Find a partner. Simple bodywork.
12.00-13.00 Group Sharing what you learned.
13.00-14.00 Lunch
14.00-14.50 Theory Love and the life force – consciousness and the sexual energy – what we are, and how to use our basic forces.
Finding happiness. Going from mind to life. Our energetic character: good, bad or indifferent. Body type, mental type, s piritual type.
15.00-15.50 Exercise Bodywork and talk therapy – we go deeper.
16.00-17.00 Group Sharing what you learned.

Day 2: Sacred life, sacred mind – heal your mind. Solve your mental and existential problems.
10.00-10.50 Theory The nature and structure of mind. Suffering and happiness. The problem of mind and its solution. Theory of emotions and feelings. The value of having a personal goal.
11.00-11.50 Exercise No-exercise. Grounding and push exercise. Body work and talk therapy – healing the mind.
12.00-13.00 Group Your life and your mental state – what do you need to heal? What do you need to understand? 10 min writing followed by sharing.
13.00-14.00 Lunch
14.00-14.50 Theory Personal history. Mind and Life, person and the Self. The fundamental dichotomy. The gift of intelligent, deep seeing and real understanding.
15.00-15.50 Exercise Body work and talk therapy – healing the mind II.
16.00-17.00 Group 10 min writing. Sharing what you learned.

Day 3: Sacred sexuality, sacred relationship – learn to live together
10.00-10.50 Theory The nature of love and the difference between male and female sexuality. The theory of joy. Our double-sexed nature – inner man/inner woman. How the sexual energy circulates and how to use it wisely.
11.00-11.50 Exercise Gender exercise, sexuality awareness, time line therapy and/or bodywork.
12.00-12.00 Group What did you see? Where did you see from? Who are you truly?
13.00-14.00 Lunch
14.00-14.50 Theory Our double-sexed nature – inner man/inner woman. How the sexual energy circulates. The sacred relationship is for joy and learning.
15.00-15.50 Exercise Deep energetic breath work (Grof’s Rebirthing).
16.00-17.00 Group 10 min writing. Sharing what you saw. Saying yes to life, going beyond mind and the person. Finding love, truth, and joy. Sharing.

Day 4: Sacred work, sacred talent – find your life purpose
14.00-14.50 Theory Going beyond the person: Our core talent and purpose of life. The good and the evil in us. How to find and how to use your core talent!
15.00-15.50 Exercise Talent flower – find your many talents – and look for a core talent / your essence (in groups of four).
16.00-17.00 Group Find your purpose of life – I. Hot Chair, help to find your purpose.
13.00-14.00 Lunch
14.00-14.50 Theory Our spiritual nature. Energy and information in life – how it works. Manifesting your own world from consciousness. Grace. Intuitive knowledge. Personal power.
15.00-15.50 Exercise Bodywork. Talent Flower II: Find your purpose of life. (In groups of four)
16.00-17.00 Group Let’s find your purpose – II. Hot Chair, help to find your purpose.

Day 5: Sacred spirit, sacred Self – go beyond your old self to freedom and happiness
10.00-10.50 Theory Self-inquiry and devotion: Train your yes to life and your no to mind! Abstract and concrete. Theory of oneness. The universal being. The limitless gift of consciousness.
What is the good life? Our possibilities and true potential. Becoming real, becoming one with the divine.
11.00-11.50 Exercise The simple and effective technique of self-inquiry (from the sacred line of Ramana Maharshi).
12.00-13.00 Group Your goal for your life. Write 2×10=20 min. Then share in the group. Let’s find and formulate it together.
13.00-14.00 Lunch
14.00-14.50 Theory The human problem: Why do we suffer? The course of physical and mental disorders. Social problems, love problems, sexual problems, working problems. What it means to know your Self. The true Self. Going beyond our purpose of life. Walking the path of purification and your sadana (spiritual practice).
15.00-15.50 Exercise Sitting – the fastest way to enlightenment.
16.00-17.00 Group 10 min writing. Sharing what you saw. Your new direction and your goal for your life – how to walk the spiritual path. Consciousness and appropriateness. Let life shape itself by, saying yes to all good possibilities and no to temptations. Planning future exercises and sadanas.

Also in the plan:
When needed: Stories from our own life
Not in the plan, to be included if needed:
· Drama therapy
· Naked self-presentation
· Bengt Sterns “Fascist Exercise”

Please Notice: This program might change according to the need of the group and its participants.
Welcome to Elsebråne.
We start at 10AM with a small brunch for the newcomers. We finish the course the 6th at 4PM.
The course costs 4500 DKK, all inclusive (3 meals vegetarian food, accommodation at domatory, course materials). There is room for 20 people on our romantic yellow course yard of 300m2, built as a log cabin in oak beams year 1844.

Methods: Traditional holistic medicine with conversation and bodywork combined with other therapeutic and spiritual methods inspired by Jung, Perls and Reich, the oriental wisdom tradition (Sai Baba, Marharshi and others) and Native American shamanism (White Eagle, Strong Eagle, Carlos Castaneda and others).

Teacher: Søren Ventegodt. Hostess: Pavlina Kordova

Course Address:

Elsebråne Training Center,
Elsebrånevägan 588-8, 37491 Asarum,
Blekinge, Sweden
(take the train from Malmö or Copenhagen Airport to Karlshamn station (2.5t) where we will pick you up at. 9:30AM).

Registration to ventegodt@livskvalitet.org, for questions and more info: call 0045 20 66 67 66 or write to ventegodt@livskvalitet.org.
Bring warm clothes for walks in the nature/countryside, loose clothing, and like a sleeping bag or bed linen (we have quilts / blankets / pillows).

We hope to see you in January!

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